# pragmatics

Pronunciation: say "prag-MAT-iks" /pɹæɡˈmætɪks/

## Noun

1. The study of how language is used in social contexts, especially how meaning works there, including aspects beyond the text such as reference to the surrounding situation, phatic small talk, and nonverbal signals.
   - Simple: The study of how people use language in real life and how the situation changes what words mean.
   - _A word like "here" is a classic problem for pragmatics, since its meaning depends on where the speaker is standing._
   - _For translators, pragmatics matters as much as grammar: a polite formula in one language can sound cold in another._
2. Plural of pragmatic. — plural of pragmatic
   - Simple: Plural of pragmatic. Use it for more than one official order made public by rulers.
   - _The crown issued a series of pragmatics limiting what merchants could charge for grain._
   - _Historians have traced how the royal pragmatics on dress and luxury were ignored in the provinces._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pragmatics (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).